Lawsuit Filed Against Carnival Over Restriction Of Cubans Traveling To Island

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DORAL (CBSMiami) – A lawsuit has been filed against Carnival Corporation following news that people born in Cuba will not be allowed to travel to the island on one of the company's cruise ships.

The class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of Amparo Sanchez and Francisco Marty, takes issue with Carnival and Fathom Travel complying with the Cuban government's law that "prohibits Cuban Nationals from traveling to and from Cuba by ship, including cruise lines and ferries."

"It's like as if the Castro brothers, from Cuba, are reaching with their discriminatory laws and are applying them now to the U.S. policies," said Robert W. Rodriguez, the attorney for the two Cuban-born men suing.

On Tuesday, demonstrators stood outside the Carnival Corporation offices in Doral in protests of the cruise line's decision.

Carnival said it asked the Cuban government to change the rule, and will continue to work on the issue.

Carnival is the first cruise company with permission to sail from the U.S. to Cuba, with trips beginning on May 1.